Folding tool.



No. 778,945. PATENTED JAN. 3, 1905.

A. T. BISHOP.

FOLDING 001.. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 27, 1904.

\ INVENTOR.

UNITED STATES Patented January 3, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT T. BISHOP, OF SOUTHINGTON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE HURWOOD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF BRIDGE- PORT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT. 4

FOLDING TOOL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 778,945, dated January 3, 1905.

Application filed May 27,1904. Serial No. 210,067.

1'0 ail whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT T. BISHOP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Southington, county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Folding Tool, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a folding toolas for example, a screw-driver or corkscrewwhich shall be strong, durable, and practically impossible to get out of repair and in which the cost of construction shall be reduced to the minimum, for the reason that the device as a whole shall comprise Simply a tool, a skeleton handle formed from a strip of sheet metal, and a rectangular stud, there being no springs or cams or other parts liable to excessive wear and to get out of order.

With the above and other objects in view I have devised the novel folding tool, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, reference characters being used to indicate the several parts.

Figure 1 is a view of my novel folding tool in the open position, the tool (in the present instance a screw-driver) appearing in edge view with the handle in elevation; Fig. 2, a similar view, except that the tool appears in elevation and the handle in edge view; Fig. 3, a section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1 looking toward the left, showing the tool in full lines in the open position and in dotted lines in the closed and an intermediate position; Fig. 4, a detail sectional view, on a greatly-enlarged scale, showing the position of the stud in the slot when the tool is in the open position; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view on the same scale, the

body of the stud being in section and the tool in the half-open position.

10 denotes the tool (in the present instance a screw-driver) which, with its shank 11, is formed complete from sheet metal. Near the inner end of the shank is an opening 12, and extending therefrom in the direction of the length of the shank is a slot 13, which is of less width than the diameter of the opening.

14 denotes the skeleton handle, which is formed from a single piece of sheet metal and may be of any desired convenient or ornamental configurationas, for example, substantially pear-shaped in plan, as shown in the drawings. So far as my present invention is concerned it is wholly immaterial what shape is given to the handle as a whole, it being simply required that the ends of the strip of sheet metal from which it is formed be brought into position to form parallel cheek-pieces 15, which lie on opposite sides of the shank of the tool, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

16 denotes the stud, which consists of a body 17, made rectangular in cross section, and ends 18, extending from opposite sides of the body. The long diameter of the body is made just great enough to permit it to turn freely in opening 12 and too great to pass into the slot, the short diameter of the body just passing into the slot easily but not loosely. In assembling the body of the stud is placed in'the slot in the shank and the cheek-pieces are placed on opposite sides of the shank, with the ends of the stud passing through holes in the cheek pieces provided therefor. The projecting portions of the ends are then headed down upon the outer faces of the cheek-pieces, the inner faces of which rest against the sides of the body. The ends of the stud are preferably made angular and the holes in the cheek-pieces to receive'them of corresponding shape, so that when the ends are headed down, as at 19, the cheek pieces will be clamped between the heads and the body of the stud and the stud and cheek-pieces will be made perfectly rigid.

The operation is briefly as follows: Suppose the tool to be in the closed position, as in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the body of the stud lying in opening 12 in the shank. To open, the operator swings the tool around, as shown in Fig. 5 and indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. As the long diameter of the body of the stud is greater than the width of the slot in the shank of the tool, it is obvious that the body of the stud cannot pass into the slot until the tool has been swung around to the f ull-line position. When in this position, the tool is pushed backward into the handle, the shank of the tool moving inward between the cheek-pieces and the body of the stud passing into the slot, as its long diameter will then be in alinement with the slot. As already stated, the body fits closely in the slot, so that when the shank of the tool has been pushed inward and the body of the stud is in engagement with the outer end of the slot the tool will be held perfeotly firm, as is clearly shown in Fig. 4. To return the tool to the closed position, the operator draws the tool outward until the body of the stud has passed out of the slot and into opening 12. The tool may then be swung around, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The tool will swing freely, for the reason that as soon as the slot has been moved out of alinement with the long diameter of the body of the stud it will be impossible for the stud to pass into the slot again.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. Afolding tool comprisingaskeleton handle having parallel cheek-pieces, a rectangular stud between the cheek-pieces with its long diameter lying in the direction of the length of the cheek-pieces and a tool having ashank lying between the cheek-pieces and provided at its inner end with a slot that will receive the stud when the long diameter of the stud is in alinement with the slot and an opening at the inner end of the slot in which the stud will turn freely, so that when the tool is turned to the open position and the stud is in engagement with the outer end of the slot the tool will be locked in the open position and when the tool is drawn outward to place the stud in the opening, the toolmay be turned on the stud and swung to the closed position within the handle.

2. Afoldingtoolcomprisingahandleformed from a strip of sheet metal, the ends of which form parallel cheek-pieces, a tool-shank lying between the cheek-pieces and having at its inner end an opening with a slot extending therefrom in the direction of the length of the shank and a rectangular stud between the cheek-pieces with its long diameter lying in the direction of the length of the cheek-pieces, the long diameter of the stud being greater than the width of the slot, for the purpose set forth, but said stud turning freely in the opening and passing into the slot when its long diameter is in alinement therewith.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT T. BISHOP.

Witnesses:

A. M. WOOSTER, S. W. ATHERTON. 

